Hospitality expert welcomes new role

Sep 3 2009 by Gil Lightfoot, Chester Chronicle

THE new food and beverage manager at the Doubletree by Hilton Chester hotel was part of a crack team sent over to Dubai to put together a White Paper report for the Government, identifying skill gaps in hospitality and tourism.

Jane Stoneman has an impressive history within the industry, which includes lists of high-profile luxury five-star hotels all over the UK.

Specialising in training staff and achieving service perfection throughout the workforce, Jane was the only female to hold the prestigious title of food and beverage manager at Grosvenor House Hotel in London.

The Dubai trip was prompted by the chairman of Visit Britain, Christopher Rodrigues, citing bad service as a key factor in foreign holidaymakers not visiting the UK, suggesting that we have a reputation for the type of hospitality shown by the likes of television’s Basil Fawlty.

He said: “Nearly 50,000 jobs could be lost this year because of the economic downturn and shoddy service is adding to the problem.”

Jane says: “The trip was very useful in the process of setting a benchmark for service in Manchester and then ultimately the rest of the UK.

“The hotels in Dubai set staff up to win, no matter what position they hold, through extensive training of skills and knowledge in order to be able to achieve consistent world class service.

“Staff are well looked after, trained and motivated – as a result service standards are the best in the world. This is the approach that Doubletree is taking with its staff as we understand the massive difference that it can make to a visitor’s experience.”

General manager, Tony Wright, says: “Jane is an asset to our team and she is working hard to achieve the levels of perfection that we want as standard here.

“Our staff are blossoming under Jane’s training and we believe that people shine when time is invested in them.”